


September

by Pininfarina



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 01:45:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8647030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pininfarina/pseuds/Pininfarina
Summary: The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules. No exceptions, not even for old friends. Requested one-shot.





	

The scream of the village sirens reached a deafening pitch as Grimm began to swarm the streets, snapping at innocents and giving the woman standing in the town center a wide berth.

Cries of terror and battle shouts were quickly swallowed by the blaring of the alarms. To the left, a fire sparked and then roared as a petrified deer Faunus dropped his lantern and bolted. Before long, thick smoke began billowing into the sky, a dead giveaway to anyone too far away to hear the sirens.

A local huntsman or huntress would arrive soon, and then the real battle would begin. The woman inhaled deeply and drew her sword, the crimson blade catching the glow of the fire.

 

_The weak die, the strong live._

A sudden gust of powerful wind blasted the woman, pushing at her until she was forced to take a step back. The moment she shifted off-balance, she was surrounded by a whirlwind of white, a body moving too fast for her to pin down. Blow after blow landed, sending her helmet flying, and the woman was temporarily at her assailant’s mercy.

She dropped to her knees and rolled, regaining her footing several feet away, and finally caught a clear look at her attacker.

The huntress’s most striking feature was her smoldering silver eyes, which glowed unnaturally in the dark, not reflecting the nearby flames but seeming to emit their own light. The woman lifted her arms and spun on the spot, her swan-white cloak flaring out around her as she disappeared in a hurricane of blinding silver.

A moment later the light evaporated, leaving the darkness deeper than before. All around, silence fell as the creatures of Grimm sublimated and the alarms quieted, the only sound the crackle of fire eating through wood. In the gloom, the woman seemed to glow softly, her cape falling all around her as she lifted her head to meet her opponent’s eye. When she did, shock and recognition flooded her expression.

“Raven?” In response, Raven tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. The woman straightened.

“What are you doing here?” Again, Raven didn’t answer, instead sinking into a fighting stance, muscles coiling as she prepared to lunge.

“Your team misses you.” This elicited an enraged snarl.

“Bold words coming from you, Summer.” Summer winced as if stung, and relaxed her stance, the fight seeming to drain from her limbs.

“Raven please,” she pleaded. “A lot has changed since you left. Things are different–”

“I’m well aware of how things have changed,” Raven snarled. “If you think I want anything to do with your sick little game you are gravely mistaken. I have my own people to take care of.”

“You have a team. You have a _daughter!_ ”

“She’s no daughter of mine. And you’re no partner of mine. Leave. Now.” The words hit their mark, and Summer quickly covered her wince with a hardened expression.

“Raven, I can’t let you hurt innocents. We swore an oath to protect the people.”

“I _am_ protecting the people. _My_ people.”

Summer looked down and sighed, her shoulders sagging as if the entire world had been laid upon them. When she lifted her chin again, her eyes were muted flint, her jaw set. Raven knew that look; she didn’t give her a chance to reassume her combat stance before she was flying towards her, sword arcing high in the air.

Summer burst into motion, becoming a white blur as the wind picked up around the pair. Sword met bracers as Raven swung and Summer blocked, the clash of metal on metal spraying sparks into the atmosphere. The force of impact sent Summer skidding, and she stumbled, barely dodging Raven’s next strike before she launched herself out of reach, cape whipping in her wake. Raven pursued, but she couldn’t keep up with Summer’s agility. A frustrated snarl rose in her throat as the huntress danced out of reach for the fourth time, leaving her swinging at empty air once more.

She landed heavily; the sound of rapid footsteps signaled that Summer was way ahead of her. Raven growled as she spun around, barely raising her blade in time to block the dagger that sought her neck. Summer was done playing games now; she held two curved daggers in a reverse grip, her fingerless gloves revealing the tension in her knuckles. Without skipping a beat, Summer forced Raven into close-quarters combat, her daggers a blur of bright steel as she threaded past Raven’s defenses.

Realizing the futility of her longer weapon, Raven dropped the sword and used her reinforced gauntlets to block each strike, landing several blows on her face with the sharp edge of her gauntlet, waiting for an opening to disarm her opponent. Summer gave it to her within moments; she swung wide and Raven caught her by the wrist where her glove met the bracer, and twisted. A sickening snap indicated that she broke the fragile bones, and Summer dropped to her knees with a sharp cry of pain.

“I told you to leave.” Summer scrambled backwards, cradling her broken wrist to her chest, other hand clenching her remaining dagger, pressed into the dirt. Raven took a step closer and Summer looked up at her from her position on her knees, her face bloodied and her molten eyes wide with fear.

Raven bent down and cupped her face gently with her left hand. Summer flinched at the contact, and then relaxed involuntarily, instinctively. Softly Raven ran her other hand down her former partner’s arm until her fingers met the knife handle, which she pried gently from her grip. Summer didn’t resist, nor did she protest when Raven pressed a kiss to her lips. Rather, she returned the gesture, hesitant at first and then full of desperation. Her uninjured hand tugged at Raven’s shirt collar, pulling her closer.

When they broke apart, Summer had tears in her eyes. “I missed you,” she breathed. Raven smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She wiped a streak of tears mixed with blood off Summer’s cheek with the pad of her gloved thumb. Summer leaned into the touch slightly.

“Will you come back?” Raven sighed and shook her head.

“You know the rules, Summer.”

“Rules? You’re their leader, what rules do _you_ have to follow?” Raven swallowed hard before leaning in again, her lips brushing against Summer’s as she tightened the death grip on the dagger she held.

 

The strangled groan Summer let out when the blade slid between her ribs didn’t disturb Raven nearly so much as the hurt and confused look on her face.

 

Raven leaned back on her heels as Summer brought her hand to the wound in disbelief, pressing her fingers against the spot where blood began to stain her shirt. Her breathing quickly grew labored as the pain truly set in and she looked up at her former partner, eyes full of betrayal. When she opened her mouth, she managed only one broken word:

“Why…?”

Raven retrieved her sword and returned her helmet to her head before answering.

“The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules.” She turned away as horror and realization spread across her former partner’s features, no longer able to stomach the idea of witnessing her suffer.

When she reached the outskirts of the village, Raven paused and looked over her shoulder. “Please, forgive me,” she whispered. And then she was gone, the only evidence of her existence the harsh cawing of a crow winging its way into the forest.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt: "Write about one character killing another" specifically requested for Raven and Summer. The Rosebird on the side was unsolicited. I will write a request for anyone who can correctly guess what the title means. Comments are always appreciated!!


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